Well, let's forget the others for now and talk about the Strawberry Shortcakes.

First let me say that I LOVE Baking Chez Moi! Seriously, every recipe has been surprisingly easy and tasty. Except for one - I'm looking at you, tapioca. Not a quitter. Still working on that one. But I digress. Dorie's stories (did that just rhyme?) and hints for changing up the recipes make it a fantastic book. And this is from someone who never really loved cookbooks. Did I just say that out loud to a bunch of bakers? Sorry. I beg your forgiveness.

The Strawberry Shortcake recipe drew me in right from the start. I already had all the ingredients. Hello? That's the mark of a great recipe! Doesn't hurt that organic strawberries were on sale this week. And the kids were home for Father's Day. Everybody liked this. What more can I say?

Chance to pull out some of my
mechanical drawing tools.
The circle template still has tape pads
on the back from the *olden* days
when we physically drew with ink.

Piping is fun. Even from a baggie.
One day I'll remember to buy a 1/2" tip.
And an offset spatula.

This is our Lady.
That's her name. Really.
She didn't care about the
"lady"finger batter but
she loves strawberries.

Here's a little quilt I did of her last year.
It's called "Lady in Blue".

You can find the other Tuesdays With Dorie participants who made Strawberry Shortcake, Franco-American Style here.

Much time has passed and there have been many many shoes in the road. This one may not be the most exciting or beautiful, but it's the one I saw today.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Dorie explains that they call it a weekend cake in France, because it's something you can take on a picnic or nibble on all weekend. I doubt if this one will make it to the weekend at the rate we're consuming it.

This nice little cake is enhanced with the flavors of:

- browned butter (WHY haven't I ever browned butter before?)

- lots of vanilla (my bean was more crisp than sticky, so I used extract)

- and rum ("spiced rum" because it's what we had)

YUM!

And it was easy. Oh how I love that the recipes in Baking Chez Moi are easy! Thank you Dorie.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

These bars can be made with any combination of oats, nuts, and dried fruit. I believe there is very little you could do wrong.

Here's the secret ingredient.

Thank you, Dorie, for expanding my world. It took two trips around a very large grocery store to find the brown rice syrup. Wouldn't have had the heart to go back and search the second time if I hadn't been waiting for a prescription to be filled. I hope Kroger appreciates its pharmacists as much as I do.

Got distracted and also picked up some nice cheese while I was over on that side of the store. Heard a little story on NPR this week about a time when a woman first discovered that "some people spend money on really good cheese". That phrase stuck with me and for once I couldn't resist inspecting all the interesting selections at the cheese counter. Three tiny pieces for about $20. Looking forward to savoring them.

Back to the granola bars. Oh so easy. I may never buy commercial granola bars again. Can't wait to try a variety of different ingredients. I can report that peanuts, raisins, coconut, and dark chocolate make a dynamite combination. The chocolate melted and made the whole thing reminiscent of no-bake oatmeal cookies. But somehow they seem healthier. I'm trying not to think of the carb count. At least this is real food. I know what's in it. My goal for the year is to stop eating food-like products. I don't eat that much junk to begin with, but after consuming "prepared" and "fast" food for a few days on the road, it's obvious how different my body feels.

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers are here. Let's see what kind of granola bars they all made.

Just for fun, here's an interesting story I found while looking for the NPR story mentioned above (which I did not find). I LOVE Norwegian brown cheese. Sliced extremely thin and piled on top of crispbread. With an apple. Makes an amazing snack. Sometimes you can find it at the regular grocery store. I'ts always available at the farmer's market. Treat yourself. Trust me.

And now a shoe. I was actually in a funeral procession when I first saw this one. Couldn't exactly pull over and take a picture. But after the cemetery and a dinner with long-lost cousins, the shoe was still there waiting. Life is short. Eat well. That's my unsolicited advice for today.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

At least we had the famousStarlight Mint Surprise cookies.Rolled up cake awaits filling and frosting.

Ah well, there are worse things. It was a fun Christmas activity. I even envisioned making it an annual event. I was so proud of myself. The cake baked and rolled up beautifully. The pecans were to die for (everyone agreed on that). The fluffy marshmallow icing was magical. If only the cake had been chocolate. Well, there's always next year.

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers can be found here. Most of their families were less demanding, LOL!

We probably won't make them again. Our go-to chocolate mint cookie is a favorite from childhood, Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies. A wondrous combination of crispy brown sugar dough, filled with a mint-flavored chocolate disc and topped with a nut. Not "little cakes". Sorry Nightcaps, when you're up against family tradition it's not a fair fight. Especially when you're not a cookie to begin with.

Maybe if your layers were crispy and sandwiched together with Nutella...

but that would be a different thing altogether, wouldn't it? Ah well, every recipe can't be a winner.

And then there was the issue of the "nightcap". A mound of chocolate on top that looked very unappetizing. Let's be honest. I'm a dog owner.

But a piping bag full of ganache can be fun. Why in the world would anyone put a dull pile of chocolate poopie on top when there are so many other possibilities?

Unfortunately, these can't be stored easily once they're topped. Which is why the recipe also specified that they must be eaten right away. Who lives in a world where an entire batch of cookies can be consumed immediately? Not me. We now have a little decorate-it-yourself kit in the refrigerator.

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers who made this recipe can be found here.

And a shoe. From Statesboro. We went down there this week to retrieve our girl, and her dog, and her car, which was inoperable and had to be towed - what an experience!